Debt’s Double-Sided Sword is Really Sharp on One Side

To many, debt has become a necessary evil to just get by. By getting a debt reduction blueprint, this necessary evil may be a thing of the past.

You get a job, so you can afford to have a life. But then you spend all your time at work, and end up with no time to live the life you’re working for. Why?

Debt. **Mic drop**

Okay, so let’s talk about debt for a second. Debt can usually be traced back to the root of all economic problems ever to have existed. Social disparities, which are usually stemmed from economic issues, are therefore also a result of the shitty side-effects of debt. What’s more is that no one likes to talk about it. Like, at all.

What’s debt got to do with it, got to do with it?

The modern economy has been built on debt. Getting a college education oftentimes puts an individual in debt, hence the recent survey showing average student loan debt at a whopping $37,000. Starting a business? Well, you can probably expect to have to take on some debt in order to invest into the business. The key word here is invest, as both of these activities are examples of investments that will bring large returns. **fingers crossed**

However, I previously discussed the consequences of the credit expansion of the ‘70s and ‘80s, which, in general, brought a rise in the demonized consumerism and messed up how we think of money and payment for goods and services. Messed it up so much that close to 50 percent of the population cannot afford a $400 emergency without taking on debt.

“…in life, ignorance is not a virtue.” – Barack Obama

A debt-literacy study in 2009 concluded that only one-third of the population “can apply concepts of interest compounding to everyday situations or understand the workings of credit cards.” That means that 2 out of 3 people have no idea what compound interest is all about. That’s a whole bunch, folks. The study also showed that those afflicted with debt illiteracy paid 50 percent more than the average cardholder in credit card fees. That’s just on fees! Combining that with the voodoo that is compound interest, you can be assured that these people are screwed. Again, “these people” are the majority. Which means YOU are probably one of these people.

Those who understand interest, receive it. Those who do not, pay it.

Not to get religious and all, but the Bible talks about debt throughout the Old and New Testaments. Many of the verses and passages pertaining to debt are quite relevant to us today, exemplifying that this issue seems to be timeless. The best one regarding the topic at hand is from Proverbs 22:7, which says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.”

This is absolutely true.

There is a reason the rich are rich and the poor are poor. The rich are able to make their money work for them while the poor only work for the money, essentially enslaving themselves to the rich. Ahem, modern-day slavery.

The difference between the slavery of today and the slavery we read about in our history textbooks is that today, slavery isn’t really coerced. We enslave ourselves.

Human Behavior

With the advanced levels of marketing and access to easy credit, it has become ridiculously difficult to navigate through the world without falling into debt. Browsing through your credit card statements sometimes makes you wonder, “How did I get into this mess? Am I really this reckless?” Well, yes, but this is normal human behavior.

Our ability to think abstractly into the future is not a strong suit. We have a hard time accurately depicting our future self’s situation. The culprit is our present bias, which is our tendency to draw attention to the now versus the later.

Not only that, but even with the knowledge of how to get out of debt, many of us lack the diligence to execute that goal because, you know, #YOLO. After three months of diligent debt reduction, you will forget why you’re even doing this and take on some more debt because again, #YOLO.

Okay…So, How?

There are ways out of debt. You can force yourself to stop spending money on stuff you don’t need. You can turn into a boring (and angry) human that doesn’t go out to eat, only wears hand-me-downs (nothing wrong with that), and cuts all entertainment expenses out of the budget.

But you don’t have to.

What if there was a way to get out of debt without any changes in spending, but only by adjusting the way you pay your bills?

No worries, I’ve got you. My Debt Reduction Blueprint has the tools to help you live debt free and live a financially secure life. By clicking on the blueprint link, you can get your plan for free to get out of debt. Learn the techniques that turn YOU into your own bank and start RECEIVING the interest instead of paying it.

If you have a mortgage, car, student loan debt, or credit cards, you should get your blueprint right now. This isn’t some debt consolidation gimmick where you pay some dudes to more than what they end up paying to the creditors they haggled for you. This is YOU getting out of debt with help from professionals that know how the rich get rich and the slaves stay slaves.

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Published by Kevin D. Gomez

Kevin D. Gomez is an Instructor of Economics at Creighton University and Program Manager at the Institute for Economic Inquiry. He received his B.S. in Economics and Statistics from Florida State University and his M.A. from George Mason University. Trying to pay it forward by helping noneconomists make sense of the crazy world.
View all posts by Kevin D. Gomez

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Welcome to ReasonablEconomics where we try to make sense of the world using our economic toolkit. Here you will find commentary on current events and our day-to-day lives. Browse through the posts and check out our podcast, Katallaxy. Contact us with any questions, comments or post submissions!